The invention relates to simulating the appearance properties of a fabric based on properties of the yarn in the fabric based on physical and/or chemical properties of the yarn in the fabric. The simulation is comparable to the actual fabric formed from yarn of those properties and reveals wanted or unwanted patterning independent of color.
Both yarn manufacturers and fabric producers are faced with the problem of variations in yarn properties (e.g. denier, bulk, shrinkage, cross section, dyeability) and the effect of these variations on fabrics. In the past the effects of these variations in the actual fabric could only be determined by actually making test fabrics from the yarns which is expensive and time consuming.